Return to IllyriaCommonwealth Shakespeare Company has been around for so long (19 years) that theyíre beginning to repeat themselves. This summer marks their second journey to Illyria, the sett...

» Read more

X

Return to Illyria

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has been around for so long (19 years) that theyíre beginning to repeat themselves. This summer marks their second journey to Illyria, the setting of "Twelfth Night," a show they also performed in 2001.

Itís a play thatís worth another visit. "Twelfth Night" is not only one of Shakespeareís best comedies, "itís one of his best plays," says Steven Maler, founding artistic director of CSC.

Shipwrecked, Viola gets washed up on the shores of Illyria, believing her twin brother to be dead. Disguised as a man, she works for Orsino, delivering his messages of love to Olivia. But, instead, Olivia falls in love with Viola, believing her to be a man. Mistaken identities prove once again that the course of true love never did run smooth. But itís the haunting mood of "Twelfth Night" that captures the hearts of so many directors, actors and viewers. Shakespeare offers a sensitive reflection on the complicated nature of love and loss.

"At the start of the play, there have been about five deaths," says Maler. "So itís about a journey from loss to joy and love."

As usual, Maler has assembled a talented cast that revels in the midsummer nightís dream of performing before thousands of people during three weeks on the Boston Common. Marianna Bassham plays Viola, Remo Airaldi plays Feste, and Fred Sullivan Jr. is Malvolio. Maler is confident that theyíre up to the challenge of performing Shakespeareís multi-layered scenes.

"The play has these wild swings in tonality," says Maler. "It goes from broad physical humor to beautiful, melancholic scenes about loss to meditations on death. We have a team that can strike all the chords of the play."

Itís probably not surprising that Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has entered into a partnership with Babson College in Wellesley. It makes sense: Babson gets to bolster its arts programming and CSC finds a safer harbor from the financial storms that assault arts organizations.

But it may be surprising to learn that Steven Maler, founding artistic director of CSC and now director of the Sorenson Center for the Arts at Babson, saw this kind of collaboration as so crucial to the long-term success of his company that heís been hunting for a university partner since 1998, the second year of the 19-year-old theater company.

"I think it will be very productive on both ends," says Maler, now in the process of rehearsing CSCís upcoming free Shakespeare production of "Twelfth Night" on the Boston Common, July 23 to Aug. 10. "It allows CSC to consider growing in a way that it couldnít have on its own. As we look to the horizon to see how theater companies can survive and thrive in this challenging market, these kinds of partnerships have proven to be successful."

Indeed, the Huntington Theatre Company has Boston University, the American Repertory Theater has Harvard and now CSC is the resident theater company at Babson, which is, perhaps, a surprising choice. Babson, after all, is an esteemed business school without a full theater program. But Maler points out that it makes more sense than a partnership with, say, the Boston Conservatory, where they have their own extensive theater studies program already in place.

And Babsonís approach to a business education also makes this an interesting match. The school views creativity as a cornerstone of its program.

"Babson is acclaimed for the way it teaches entrepreneurship," says Maler, describing the school thatís consistently ranked the number one college for entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report. "And Babson has a tradition of teaching their students through creativity: They write poetry, they create dance pieces, they do improvisations. Creativity is an important part of its educational philosophy. And we see tremendous overlap between an art organizationís view of creativity and an entrepreneurís view of creativity. Theyíre different, but they have a lot in common."

Although Maler sees a natural connection between arts organizations and educational institutions, these kinds of marriages are clearly not easy to forge; thatís why itís taken him more than 15 years to find one.

"The trick is being sure that youíll have the support at both the top of the college and also down in the trenches," says Maler. "Trying to find both of those is a challenge."

He knew he had support at the top at Babson. Kerry Healey, the president of Babson and former lieutenant governor, is a former board member with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, and she presented the idea of this collaboration.

Page 2 of 2 - "This was part of the presidentís vision for the college," says Maler, "but weíve also found great support among faculty and the staff. Itís important that, at all ranks of the college, they feel that youíre not only providing value, but also that itís a value thatís needed."

So now Maler, a city boy, just has to get used to life in the suburbs. CSC recently uprooted from their "small but effective space in the North End" to the Babson campus in Wellesley. Maler admits thatís been a little bit of an adjustment; heís now a reverse commuter. Thatís meant the purchase of a car, but at least thereís a reward at the end of the commute: Babsonís lovely campus.

And, even more importantly, thereís the sense that CSC, which has been growing "slowly and cautiously" since 2008, is headed in the right direction.

"One of the things Iíve appreciated the most about this is a new sense of permanence, a sense of having a home," says Maler. "Weíre still early in the partnership and thereís still lots to figure out, but it already feels like weíre now connected to something bigger."